By Bradley Melchor, Staff
After opening their 2024 season on the road with multiple out-of-state trips, the UMHB Women’s Volleyball team returned home this past week as they hosted conference rivals Howard Payne University and Hardin-Simmons University.
As the Crusaders earned a four-set victory over Howard Payne and edged out a five-set win over arch-rivals Hardin-Simmons, the Cru secured Head Coach Mark Pryor’s 300th career win, and advanced to 11-0 on the season.
When asked about his team’s strong start, Pryor highlighted his team’s ability to turn one of their perceived weaknesses into one of their greatest strengths. “One thing about this team is that we’re young and we have a lot of new faces. We’ve got some freshmen and a lot of sophomores who are getting a lot of time that didn’t get as much time last year. There’s just a lot of newness and with that it’s never easy trying to mesh things together, but they’ve done well, they’ve fought well, and they’ve been able to handle a really difficult early schedule.”
The Cru certainly are a new and young team, as eight of the ten players with the most sets played thus far this season are either a freshman or sophomore, with only three of players ranking in the top ten last year as well. However, these underclassmen have been nothing short of exceptional to start the season, with freshman Baylee Mobley recording 133 points in 13 starts, and sophomore Natalie Hughes building on an amazing freshman campaign by recording 137.5 points in 14 starts.
“We’re trying to bring in kids that not only fit what we’re trying to do schematically, but are also a fit with UMHB. If they’re happy with the 21 hours they aren’t in the gym, they’re gonna be happy during the three hours they are in the gym. When you combine that with their already god-given athletic ability, then it’s a lot easier to mesh and be competitive early, "said Pryor when asked about how these underclassmen have been able to adapt and contribute so quickly.
Pryor also emphasized that this team still has room to grow stating, “We’re still trying to establish an identity, and we want to be a team that is consistently good, not occasionally great. We need to limit our hitting errors and avoid giving away points, and make our opponents earn every point.”
The Crusaders then moved into the weekend where they would host Hendrix College, the University of Dallas, St. Thomas University, and Southwestern University.
The Crusaders would pick up a three-set sweep over Hendrix and a pair of four-set victories over Dallas and St. Thomas, but would unfortunately suffer their first defeat of the season as they fell in three sets to Southwestern.
The Cru will have a quick turnaround, as they prepare for yet another road trip as they travel to Conway, AR to compete in the Hendrix Invitational. The Crusaders will play their first match of the tournament on Saturday, Sept.21 at 12 p.m. when they face former ASC rivals Concordia University, and then play again later in the afternoon when they take on the hosts at 6 p.m. The Cru will close out the trip with a match against Rhodes college on Sunday, Sept.22 at 10 a.m.
